1. Field of the Invention
The field of this invention is cervical collars.
Specifically, this invention pertains to a cervical collar that is designed for use by travelers or others who want to be able to sleep while sitting up.
2. Background
Even the infrequent flyer has experienced the following situation. After a long day in an unfamiliar time zone, she has to rush to the airport to make the last flight home. Tired, harried and stressed out, she finally makes her way through the rush hour traffic, through the long lines at check-in and baggage inspection, through the crowds of people coming and going, and finally gets on the plane. The plane is full, and she has a center seat in coach class. Shortly after the plane lifts off, she reclines her seat but finds it doesn't recline very far, certainly not far enough to be really comfortable, and she can't lean to one side or the other without bumping into the stranger next to her. Still, she is so tired that puts her head back as far as she can and falls fast asleep. One of two things typically happens at this point. Once she falls deeply asleep, her neck no longer holds the heavy weight of her head up, so she either awakens when her head slumps forward or to the side, or, she is so tired and falls so deeply asleep that she doesn't awaken when her head slumps, but awakens some time later with a severely stiff neck (or even worse, a strained neck). Neither situation is enjoyable.
This situation is not restricted to airplanes and airplane travel. The fact is that the human head is heavy, and holding it erect requires much more neck muscle strength that healthy people realize. But in hospitals and convalescent hospitals, it is common to see people who are sitting up but cannot keep their heads erect, even if they are awake. People in convalescent hospitals often spend most of their days sitting in wheel chairs, alternatively dozing. Just like the airplane traveler described above, their heads droop, sometimes to a dangerous degree, when they do sleep.
For these reasons, small, usually inflatable travel pillows are a staple in catalogs directed to the frequent traveler. These are invariably horseshoe-shaped pillows that provide some cushioning on the sides and in the back, but not in the front. However, once the person falls asleep the head is as likely to slump forward as to the side, particularly in situations where the person cannot recline very far. Moreover, when that happens, the person's cervical spine is placed in a potentially harmful state of hyperflexion.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for an improved cervical collar than can be used by those people who want to, or need to, sleep while in a substantially upright position, that will keep the person's head “floating” in an anatomically neutral position above the neck while they sleep.